Dropping The Crown

Chapter 28: Do We Have A Problem?

Adani's POV

"Oh My Goodness! Congratulations!" Mrs. Parriston squealed loudly as Penelope walked in her direction and showed her the ring. "I knew he would have popped the question," she added as I walked into the room.

Both pair of eyes landed on me, daring me to say something, anything. And as if my silence wasn't good enough, Mrs. Parriston just had to say something to me.

"Look, Adanio, my son put the ring on his future wife's finger," she said to me.

Flashing my fake smile, I dug deep. "Congratulations. And my name is Adani. Not Adanio," I corrected.

"Oh, what does it matter, it's not like it's of importance that I should get your name correctly," her usual self responded.

"Mother," Mr. Parriston said as he walked into the room.

"Congratulations, again. I can't wait for the wedding. Oh, soon enough, this empty mansion would have a few kids running around. I'm so happy. This is one of the happiest days of my life," she said and embraced her son whose eyes landed on me.

I excused myself and made my way to the bedroom. I got a hot shower, got into my nightwear and sat up in the bed thinking about tonight.

~

The following afternoon, I was in the upstairs storage unit getting clean cloths when I heard the door pushed open. Turning around, I was face to face with Mr. Parriston.

"You and John. What's going on?" he questioned.

I was baffled by the question and of his presence too. It was obvious he had just came home from his company. Briefcase was still in hand and his tie wasn't even loose as yet.

"John invited me out to dinner. He newly opened a restaurant and wanted.."

"That beach restaurant?" he interrupted and asked.

"Yes," I answered.

"Oh please. His restaurant has been in operation from since six months ago. There's nothing new about it."

"Well to him, probably it is. And it was just dinner and a walk."

"Where did you two walk?"

"Along the beach. With all due respect, Mr. Parriston, why are you asking me all these questions?"

He stepped closer, so close that I could feel his body heat beginning to wrap around me and wake up the butterflies I had to get rid of.

"You're right. What you do is your business but I do hope you're careful. John doesn't have a clean dating record. He uses his stale lines about being a chef and having a passion for food to woo women, then he dumps them when he has had enough. Sort of like when you would push a plate of meal away when your stomach is filled."

"Thank you for the information and congratulations on your engagement, Mr. Parriston," I sliced.

I moved away from him and left the storage room. I had already clean his bedroom so I was grateful I could have avoided him for the remainder of the evening.

~

I liked John. I looked forward to seeing him on the weekends when he came to the mansion.
We talked for hours on the phone at nights and he made me laugh. He showed me how to prepare one of his favorite dishes which he called a comfort pasta one weekend.

"You know, Adani, I like you," John said to me one evening after he finished his cooking. He reached into his jacket and pulled out a bouquet of flowers.